You cannot spot reduce! This is a myth that the diet industry and the manufacturer of whatever the latest exercise device, that is meant to seperate your money from your wallet, perpetuate. Usually as you reduce your body fat percentage, some areas will respond while others are more stubborn. The stubborn areas will respond if you get your bodyfat % low enough.

What foods should you eat daily?
You need a variety of food to provide fat, carbohydrates and protein.

Again contrary to popular opinion fat is not bad for you. Fat does contain 9 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein. So a small amount can add calories quickly. Fat is needed for essential bodily functions and without it you will have health problems. A minimum of 20% of your calories should come from fat. Fat has also been shown to have the ability to satiate hunger which is always important when dieting. Good sources of healthy fats (mono- and polyunsaturated):
Nuts (I like unroasted almonds, natural peanut butter, walnuts)
Olive oil (I use extra virgin almost exclusively)

Carbohydrates come in two varieties complex (also called good carb) and simple (also called bad carbs). Simple carbs are not necessarily bad for you. The problem with simple carbs is that they are digested quickly. The good thing about simple carbs is they are digested quickly. Think of sugar. It is great for a quick short term energy boost and when your glycogen levels (the energy source for your muscles) are low, like after a workout, simple carbs are a great way to replenish your glycogen supply. But if your glycogen levels are full because you have been sitting in front of your computer, the carbs get stored as fat. Complex carbs take longer to digest so they provide a longer lasting energy source. Because they take longer to digest your body has a chance to burn off some of your glycogen supply before it tries to store the complex carbs as glycogen or fat. You should limit your simple carbs to the morning (after you haven't eaten for 6-8 hours and your glycogen supplies are low) or after a workout when your glycogen need refilled. Complex carbs:
Vegetables
Fruit
Oatmeal
Whole Wheat/Whole Grain bread
Sweet potatoesSimple Carbs:
Sugar
white flour (including white breads)
Fruit Juice
Soda
Alcohol (including hard liquor, wine and beer)

Protein is the only nutrient that has the chemical building blocks to repair and build muscle. Protein is very important when dieting. Weight loss from diet without exercise will be 50% from burning fat stores and 50% from catabolizing muscle. Losing muscle is a bad thing as muscle drives your metabolism when you have less your body burns less calories. Protein sources:
Meat (Beef, turkey, tuna, fish, chicken, pork)
Beans (lentils, navy beans, pinto beans, soy beans,etc.)
Eggs
Dairy (milk, cottage cheese, yogurt)

Water (Not really a food, but essential just the same)

You should strive to get a minimum of 20% of your calories from fat, 30% from protein and the rest from carbohydrate (limiting simple carbs).

No grains or anything processed. I don't care what colour your wheat is, steer clear. It all spikes your insulin and it all breaks down into the same=sugar.

If you are trying to lose weight keep your carb consumption to less than 100 grams per day and don't be afraid of eating the good fats and loads of protein. Multi-coloured big arse salads with lots of dark greens and other vegetables with good quality chicken, fish, etc will have you well on your way.

I also have 3 servings of fresh or fresh frozen fruit, and I try to mix it up, like one apple, one banana, and maybe some berries. I also try to stick to locally grown fruit in season, well except for the bananas and oranges, which don't grow here in the north.

I eat as many fresh and fresh frozen veggies as I want. 3 servings of orange veggies/week minimum, and 2-3 servings of green leafies/day. I do limit the veggies that are high in carbs, like corn, peas, potatoes, to not more than 3 servings/week. Although in the summer when the garden is growing like mad, I eat whatever I picked today, forget the limitations. I figure if I put in the work to plant it, weed it, pick it, wash it and cook it, then I darn well have burnt enough calories to eat it.

Protein protein protein. There are a ton of sources for protein, some of my favorites are: eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna, chicken, lean cold cuts, rf cheese, protein bars, protein shakes, etc etc. I do limit beef to not more than 3X/week. But that's not a "diet" rule so much as a personal preference. I like beef just fine, but have trouble digesting it, same for the greasier cuts of pork.

Just don't eat grains or anything processed (by the way corn is a grain, it is what farmers feed to cows to fatten them up and get the best bang for their buck!) and you will never have to 'diet' again!

Just don't eat grains or anything processed (by the way corn is a grain, it is what farmers feed to cows to fatten them up and get the best bang for their buck!) and you will never have to 'diet' again!

Great job on your weight loss to date, btw. (Just noticed it).

Actually on cows and farmers you might be wrong. While bovine of any kind will certainly eat corn, stalk, cob and all, it's cost prohibitive to feed it to beef cattle, since corn is a cash crop to most farmers. So to feed corn to cattle would be about the same as feeding them dollar bills (which by the way, they would eat, since they will eat darn near anything). Beef cows are let out to pasture spring, summer and fall, and eat mainly grass, during the colder months they are usually fed 1st cutting hay, (the cheapest cutting) which consists of mostly grass and weeds. Some farmers use growth hormones in order to make them grow larger and stronger as fast as possible, which some claim to cause obesity in humans (I've eaten hormone-free beef for the last 20 years and was obese for most of that, so I don't necessarily agree on that point). Also truthfully most beef farmers are not the least bit interested in "fat" cattle, because that decreases the market value of the whole herd, and increases disease and health issues (ie vet bills). Dairy cows on the other hand are fed corn, which in turn they make into milk, which nature intended to be fed to a 200 pound baby cow, not an adult human. But I digress....

As to weather or not corn is a grain, it's a fine line. When most of us eat it off the cob, out of the can or frozen out of a bag, we tend to think of it as a vegetable. When it's dried and ground we think of it as a grain. And when it's divided and processed we think of it as a sugar or a starch. It's one of those foods that sits on top of the fence between categories, with a little something for every body.

On grains, I know a lot of people swear off white bread or grains of any kind, but in my experience it's not the route to good health. Several years ago our household went gluten-free after our dd was diagnosed with wheat allergy. After 4 years on that diet she outgrew her allergy and we have been able to gradually bring gluten grains back into the house. All I can tell you is that we are all much healthier now than we were the last days of being GF. There are nutrients in grains that aren't readily available from other sources, so to abstain completely might be good for your waistline, it's not so great for the color of your skin or the regularity of your GI track.

I agree with you Almeeker. If I give up grains all together, my digestive system goes out of whack. Of course I totally avoid anything white, refined or processed but small portions of healthy grains are good for me.

Cinnamonsage, to get back to your original question, rpmcduff gave you a great response. If you follow his advice, you will definitely succeed. Also a couple of little "tricks" I was taught by a friend of mine who lost 90 pounds, who recommends using Apple Cider Vinegar in your salad dressing. It really is good for you and apparently helps in the process of weight loss. Also, great choice for a user name because "Cinnamon" is a great little spice to add to your smoothies, coffee, or oatmeal. And finally fennel is not only a great vegetable, it helps with digestion and fennel tea, is a wonderful herbal tea that promotes digestive health.

Of course what you eat is super important but exercise is just as important. I don't have a very good metabolism and if I don't exercise, I simply do not lose weight. I have been running 3X week, doing Jillian Michael's "30 Day Shred" 3X week and I add at least 2 power walks to that per week. It seems like a lot but the 30 Day Shred is a 20-minute workout and easy to squeeze into my morning routine.

Actually on cows and farmers you might be wrong. While bovine of any kind will certainly eat corn, stalk, cob and all, it's cost prohibitive to feed it to beef cattle, since corn is a cash crop to most farmers. So to feed corn to cattle would be about the same as feeding them dollar bills (which by the way, they would eat, since they will eat darn near anything). Beef cows are let out to pasture spring, summer and fall, and eat mainly grass, during the colder months they are usually fed 1st cutting hay, (the cheapest cutting) which consists of mostly grass and weeds. Some farmers use growth hormones in order to make them grow larger and stronger as fast as possible, which some claim to cause obesity in humans (I've eaten hormone-free beef for the last 20 years and was obese for most of that, so I don't necessarily agree on that point). Also truthfully most beef farmers are not the least bit interested in "fat" cattle, because that decreases the market value of the whole herd, and increases disease and health issues (ie vet bills). Dairy cows on the other hand are fed corn, which in turn they make into milk, which nature intended to be fed to a 200 pound baby cow, not an adult human. But I digress....

On an ideal, natural farm, what you describe is correct. Visit a feedlot sometime and tell me how much grass and hay those cows are eating. Most cows are started on grass when they are young and finished on 'grain', which is corn--100% corn, not sure, but corn is fed as well as a boatload of other garbage. Read this:

Watch Food Inc, that will be an eye opener for starters. Grass-fed beef is very difficult to find and at a premium price when you do find it. Why? Because it is RARE that a big farming company feeds their cows the right, natural way which allows them to grown naturally.

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As to weather or not corn is a grain, it's a fine line. When most of us eat it off the cob, out of the can or frozen out of a bag, we tend to think of it as a vegetable. When it's dried and ground we think of it as a grain. And when it's divided and processed we think of it as a sugar or a starch. It's one of those foods that sits on top of the fence between categories, with a little something for every body.

Corn is a grain, period. It doesn't matter what form, it is a grain. If you want to fool yourself thinking it is a veggie, that is fine, but it is a grain.

After 4 years on that diet she outgrew her allergy and we have been able to gradually bring gluten grains back into the house. All I can tell you is that we are all much healthier now than we were the last days of being GF. There are nutrients in grains that aren't readily available from other sources, so to abstain completely might be good for your waistline, it's not so great for the color of your skin or the regularity of your GI track.

I would be curious as to what your diet was during that time. People get off grains and their skin clears up, their glow returns and their GI tract is just fine. Not only that people's blood pressure drops, their diabetes disappears and, like your family member, allergies disappear. People are brainwashed into thinking being 'regular' is highly important. Being regular often means you are just consistently pumping out a load of waste.

So she you say she 'outgrew' her allergy and then you put her back on whatever it was that likely gave her the allergy? Over time, her allergies will return with the accumulation of grains in her body.

There is NOTHING that you get from eating grains that you can't get from other foods. There is NO reason to eat grains.

As for you being 'healthier now' I guess you are the one making that claim, but what are you basing that on? I see you have lost a lot of weight in the last year and that is awesome, but as far as you being healthier BECAUSE of grains, no. Most likely because of all the garbage you AREN'T eating and that you have chosen to exercise.

Our bodies are not genetically evolved to process grains the right way and with the HUGE amounts of carbs people eat each day because of grain based products, our bodies are in a constant state of inflammation and there are the plethora or diet related diseases.